Microbiologists Train Squirrel to Ring a Bell Each Time He Wants a Snack — and It Went as Expected

Kluvyer, the squirrel, has learned at an early age that nothing worth having is ever achieved without effort. Every day, when it’s lunch time, he leaps across the trees and darts to reach the window of a Microbiology Lab of UC Berkeley. He hops atop a cup and stretches his paw to hold a lever studded with beads. With hunger growling in his belly, he pulls the lever down, causing a golden bell attached to it to ring. The microbiologists inside hear this ringing sound and lay out a buffet of nuts for him. Kluvyer has been repeating this routine ever since a group of microbiology students and researchers at this California school trained her to do this. Alienor Baskevitch (@aethleflaed), a microbiologist, shared clips of Kluvyer had captured during the training season.

Baskevitch’s co-worker was one of the microbiologists who trained Kluvyer to implement this trick. At first, they befriended him by feeding him almonds. Once the squirrel became friendly, they named him after the famous microbiologist Albert Kluyver. “My co-workers taught this squirrel to ring a bell when he wants a snack,” the TikTok user wrote in a video’s overlay text. The footage in the background showed Kluvyer jumping in front of the lab’s window ledge, where there's a box of nuts.

The adorable squirrel seemed confused, but then his gaze drifted upward. He pressed his paws on the window glass to climb and catch something. Tugging onto a railing for support, he caught a lever with one of his paws and vigorously pulled it downwards. A tiny golden bell attached to the same string started ringing. "I heard this incessant ringing noise, and I was like, 'What is going on?'. My co-worker was like, 'Oh, we taught the squirrel to ring the bell,'" Baskevitch shared with CBS News.

A follow-up clip showed Kluvyer returning to the lab for a lunch of pistachios. “Our squirrel is back,” the researcher wrote. Kluvyer was seen crawling on the gravelly sidewalk in front of the lab’s window. Pushing the glass with his paws, he stared at the cup of pistachios sitting on the other side. Delicious, he must have thought. He climbed and clung to its body to the bluish window rail, then, taking the lever inside his mouth, all the way pulling it down and down. As the bell rang, nuts were served. Kluvyer pocketed one in his paws and started nibbling upon it, while his black button-like eye peered at the camera from the side.  

But there was one discrepancy in this training plan that caught the attention of dozens of viewers. They noticed that Kluvyer was struggling to reach the lever every time, so they requested the researchers to lower the lever’s level. “Lower the lever. That’s so high up,” commented @laura.kathleen07. @ic said, “We need the string to be longer.” @violetcano1974 wrote, “Put a little cute bench or chair.” Prompted by all these suggestions, the trainers added an upside-down coffee mug as a booster seat for Kluvyer to climb and reach the lever.

But as it seemed, in the video, Kluvyer was a bit skeptical about the entire setup, but still enjoyed a platter of almonds. In a comment, Baskevitch shared that they only provided him with three almonds for lunch because they didn’t want him to become dependent on them. The squirrel must continue to learn to forage for his food from natural sources. By the time the next clip was posted, Kluvyer had learned to use the booster cup ladder for climbing. And this is how the story of Kluvyer, the clever squirrel, got people worldwide to go bonkers.

You can follow Alienor Baskevitch (@aethleflaed) on TikTok to watch all the videos of Kluvyer's nut-fetching training.

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